resist Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. verb elude, especially in a baffling way
    defy; refuse.
    • This behavior defies explanation
  2. verb stand up or offer resistance to somebody or something
    withstand; hold out; stand firm.
  3. verb express opposition through action or words
    dissent; protest.
    • dissent to the laws of the country
  4. verb withstand the force of something
    fend; stand.
    • The trees resisted her
    • stand the test of time
    • The mountain climbers had to fend against the ice and snow
  5. verb resist immunologically the introduction of some foreign tissue or organ
    refuse; reject.
    • His body rejected the liver of the donor
  6. verb refuse to comply
    jib; baulk; balk.

WordNet

Re*sist" transitive verb
Etymology
F. résister, L. resistere, pref. re- re- + sistere to stand, cause to stand, v. causative of stare to stand. See Stand.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Resisted; present participle & verbal noun Resisting
Definitions
  1. To stand against; to withstand; to obstruct.
    That mortal dint, Save He who reigns above, none can resist. Milton.
  2. To strive against; to endeavor to counteract, defeat, or frustrate; to act in opposition to; to oppose.
    God resisteth the proud. James iv. 6.
    Contrary to his high will Whom we resist. Milton.
  3. To counteract, as a force, by inertia or reaction.
  4. To be distasteful to. Obs. Shak. Syn. -- To withstand; oppose; hinder; obstruct; counteract; check; thwart; baffle; disappoint.
Re*sist" intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To make opposition. Shak.
Re*sist" noun
Definitions
  1. (Calico Printing) A substance used to prevent a color or mordant from fixing on those parts to which it has been applied, either by acting machanically in preventing the color, etc., from reaching the cloth, or chemically in changing the color so as to render it incapable of fixing itself in the fibers.. The pastes prepared for this purpose are called resist pastes. F. C. Calvert.

Webster 1913